Shadow Darling
by Gemmortia
Summary: The Shadows are a troublsome creatures, feeding on the souls of humans. When a new Shadow is created, it is from a fighting soul, one who refuses to give in to the end of life, and so they are split apart from their human bodies and forced into the darkness. Their full extent and purpose are unknown, at least they were, until one young Shadow finds her light.
1. Prologue

Shadow. You are blank and unseen. Shadow. Yet you feel sad and lonely. Shadow. You latch onto humans. Shadow. You slowly suck the light and energy out of them until they die. Shadow. Some of your kind enjoy it. Shadow. But you hate even the thought of harming another. Shadow. You can't stop. Shadow. You have no choice. Shadow. You are compelled. Shadow. If you don't you will die. Shadow. Sometimes you do it fast. Shadow. Others times agonisingly slow. Shadow. The lack of freedom angers you. Shadow. You try to isolate yourself. Shadow. But you only end up latching onto someone that you care about. Shadow. Then there are others that are not human. Shadow. But they are not like you either. Shadow. They are other. Shadow. He is your cure. Shadow. His unending energy calls to you. Shadow. He can sense your otherness as you can sense his. Shadow. He steals your tether, fuses you together so completely that your bond cannot be broken. Shadow. You are safe now. Shadow. Protected. His bottomless energy is easy to access, leaves you feeling light and carefree. You feel yourself become bright again. You don't remember the last time that you were human; don't know how you could have lived any other way. Your darkness is gone. The urge to anchor is gone; the hunger for something more is nowhere to be found. You feel happiness so profoundly that you cry for the first time. He smiles. And then you are pulled home.


	2. She Remembers

She remembers.

Her name is Darcy Lewis. She is connected to herself again. Back inside her human shell, her soul attached to her body and not searching. She has found herself once more. It feels good to be home. The alien, Thor, smiles knowingly at her as she comes back to herself, blinking at the sudden change.

"Holy fucking shit." Darcy says, dropping the coffee she had been fetching for Jane. As the mug shatters by her feet she stares at the god before her. She feels their bond and the slow energy travelling between them, keeping her grounded and alive.

"Thank you." She whispers. Thor's grin is wide and proud.

"It is nothing Lady Darcy. It is an honour to be bound to one such as yourself." He said with conviction.

"I heard a crash. What happened_" Jane started but paused when she saw Darcy. IN the beginning J ane had been hesitant in taking Darcy on as her intern, considering she was so unresponsive, and meek. She hardly spoke, looked grey and really tired all the time, but she understood the work and Jane had no other applicants. She took what she could get. Darcy was good at what she did, had a knack for organising and the mechanics side of things. But there had never been any excitement for the work, no enthusiasm or life in her that scared Jane a bit. She would have questioned whether or not the girl was human. But now, looking at her, it seemed as though something had been restored. She was practically glowing with life; her hair was now lush and curly whereas before it had been dull, straight and a bit greasy; her skin was pale and clear, but flushed with happiness as opposed to the hollowed out grey colour it had been; her curves were full and plush, not the skin and bones she was before. In comparison, she was at the prime of life, the healthiest person Jane had ever seen, not the corpse that she had hired.

"What happened?" Jane asked, her curiosity getting the better of her and Darcy laughed. She had to because it was _Jane._ Jane who always wanted to know how things worked and the science behind magic.

"I'm whole again Janie." Darcy said as the tears streamed silently down her face.

"What do you mean whole? Thor?" Jane turned to him, concern and questions showing on her face.

"The Lady Darcy was a Shadow," Thor said and at the word Darcy flinched. "But has since found her light." He said diplomatically with a small nod in Darcy's direction.

"Okay…" Janes said, obviously not understanding the specifics but after observing Darcy and seeing that she looked unhurt, and overall better than she had ever seen her, she wasn't going to push the matter.

"My soul had twisted up, was taken from my body and forced to take from others. I don't remember how or when… I did such terrible things Janie. And I'd latched onto you. Oh god, I would have killed you…" Darcy started to realise the magnitude of what she had done.

"You are not at fault here Lady Darcy. And I will find the culprit and punishment will be dealt. Painfully." Thor said but Darcy wasn't listening. She could count the people she had killed; could remember their faces; could remember the life slowly fading from their eyes as she sucked it out. Darcy sank to the floor as her body started to tremble. She was a murderer.

"Shh, Darcy it wasn't your fault." Jane said as she pulled her into a hug. The comfort helped to calm her down. She sunk into Janes embrace and let her heat consume her. She was so pure, her soul shone so brightly and Darcy basked in the light. She found it odd that she could still see the souls and feel them too when she was back in her human body. She briefly wondered what else she could do but the thought faded.

"Thank you Jane." She whispered and then she felt a sharp tough through her bond with Thor. She could feel his emotion slide down into her. His ruthless determination to bring justice to those who hurt Darcy felt like a hit to the chest. Darcy and Jane disentangled themselves from each other and stood from the floor.

"I can feel your emotions big guy. Is that normal?" She asked and he cocked his head like a Labrador would.

"I do not know what is and is not normal for this kind of relationship. We should expect surprises." He said and Darcy could only sigh. Jane was looking back and forth between them and Darcy knew that she was trying to figure out what they were talking about.

"In order for me to return to normal, Thor had to break the bond that I had with you. The only way to do that was to take it for himself. Since he is an alien, their energy works differently." Darcy said and then paused. She had read about Norse mythology at one point and wondered whether Yggdrasill not only connected the nine realms but also all its occupants and that was where she was now getting her extra energy from.

"That we do little one. It is because we live longer spans of life, therefore channel more energy through the great vines of life." He said and that just confirmed Darcy's theory.

"So you're connected." Jane said. Darcy could hear the fear in her voice, of losing Thor no doubt.

"I'm basically channelling a larger source of energy through him and some other things are being passed on through the bond as well. There's nothing to fear on your part Jane, you can bang uglies all you like." Darcy said and got a raised eyebrow at the profanities but Jane was smiling so she took it as a win.

"Good. Great. Is it a permanent solution?" Jane asked and they both turned to Thor for an answer.

"Unfortunately I do not know the answer. I would have to consult my mother, for she knows more than any in regards to souls and bonds and Yggdrasill's power. From what I can feel though, the bond should last at the very least, three hundred years, maybe more." He said and Darcy just stared at him for a moment contemplating what he said.

"Does that mean that I will live for as long as the bond is alive?" She asked him and he nodded.

"Holy crap. Janie, I'm immortal." Darcy said blindly reaching out for her friend's hand, needing something to ground her.

"That's… That's really something." Jane says for want of something better to say.

"This is a lot to take in man. I need alcohol. Like now. I'mma go to the pub and drown for a bit, let everything sink in. You keep on working on opening space, 'kay Janie?" Darcy said as she grabbed her bag and walked to the door.

"She's so different now. I like it." Darcy heard Jane say just as the door closed behind her.


	3. Natalia Rushman

After her night with Clint, things started happening. Thor went home; Jane was offered a Job at Stark industries because of course Tony Stark had his nose in everything, including Shield, though whether or not he'd hacked into their servers for the information remains to be seen. Darcy left Jane to decide whether or not to take the job. Since Erik had been carted off with the Shield agents, Clint included to do some top secret work, Darcy had decided to stay with Jane.

Mainly because her connection with Thor always felt content when she was closer to Jane but also because Jane was the first person Darcy cared about that she hadn't hurt. She had an instinctual urge to protect her now, preserve her life so that she could live. It felt nice to be compelled to protect instead of kill and Darcy wanted to keep it that way.

When they moved to New York and into Stark Tower, Darcy was surprised to find that she had been bumped up from intern to assistant and was now even on the payroll. Her new job included taking care of the entire floor of Scientists, that for now only included Janie, and Mr Stark. She had yet to actually meet the infamous Iron Man but she wasn't surprised by it. He was a busy man and had many things to do apparently.

Darcy settled into her new routine easily, especially considering that she had on site lodgings, as Pepper Potts's assistant, Claire called them. Darcy was happy with her new digs. They were bigger that she expected, with a kitchen and lounge area as well as a bathroom and bedroom. If she'd had to find housing in New York it would have been the size of a shoe box.

Not to mention that it was decorated to perfection. It was like an interior designer's wet dream. The walls were painted a light cream colour, the carpet was fluffy under her bare feet, and the furniture was all vintage floral patterns and lace pillows and Darcy nearly cried when she saw it for the first time.

She'd asked Claire if they had a mind reader on their team, who'd taken Darcy's dream home right out of her head and made it into a reality. She had told her that they had only the best at Stark Industries but really it was because Pepper was awesome and loved to make the residential suites as inviting as possible. Darcy later discovered that the woman considered it a hobby. Darcy was in awe.

She didn't have to wake up before eight in the morning, which she appreciated. She also met JARVIS, which was a dream come true. He kept her fridge and cupboard full of everything she needed in order to full fill her midnight baking addiction, and even caved when she begged him to install a coffee machine in Jane's lab.

Jane's Lab was amazing. It had every single doodad and whatsimacallit that Jane could ever need. And when it had something she didn't need, they had the parts to make it. There was no more duct tape being used here, not if Darcy had any say in it.

Her new routine was interrupted by a startling discovery.

It happened on a Thursday afternoon. Darcy was underneath the converter, trying to get the calibrator to work properly because it had been glitching and stuffing up the data results. She was getting up to grab another tool that was too far away when she saw someone out of the corner of her eye.

She screamed in surprise and jumped around only to find that her hands were lighting up. They sent a shock through her and then shot out of her hands towards her assailant. They both fell to the floor, Darcy in shock and the other person from the lightening that shot out of her hands and into them. Darcy stared at her hands, not sure how it was possible that she could do that. Maybe it was another thing that she had inherited from Thor through the bond.

She looked up to see a rather confused red headed woman sitting up in a daze. Her soul was sharp and alert, a shade of red that reminded Darcy of blood and she felt immediately comfortable in its presence, her palms losing their electric feel, though it completely contradicted what she saw. Then she caught a glimpse of softness, kindness and determination in her that made Darcy think that there were layers to this woman's soul. Darcy was intrigued.

Darcy was also hesitant to touch her. She had no idea what her knew powers were or when they were triggered so she didn't want to take any chances.

"Are you alright?" Darcy called out to her and the woman turned to her, a curious look on her face.

"Are you?" She replied, her voice clear and bell-like. It was pleasant and calming.

"Well I'm the one who accidentally electrocuted you so…" Darcy said and the woman raised an eyebrow at her.

"Has that ever happened before?" She asked and Darcy shook her head.

"Mm, well I can't say that anyone has gotten the drop on me like that before. Clint will be happy when I tell him." She said with a little amused smile.

"Wait you mean Clint Barton?" Darcy asked.

"You know him?" The woman asked.

"Yeah I met him in New Mexico." She said, wondering if she was even allowed to talk about it. She'd signed so many DNA's that she was sure if she let something slip SHIELD would probably kill her.

"Ah, so you were there when Thor landed." She said.

"I thought that was classified information." Darcy said, suspicious.

"It is. I have clearance." She said and Darcy nodded. If she didn't she wouldn't know about Thor, Darcy reasoned.

"I'm sorry I electrocuted you." She said in lieu of a response.

"I've had worse. My name is Natalia Rushman." She said and Darcy remembered Claire telling her about Natalia coming to see her at some point today.

"Right. It is that time already? I must have gotten carried away with fixing Jane's machine. Do you want to go grab something to eat while we do a hand over? I missed lunch." Darcy said and the woman nodded in agreement.


End file.
